NFC East Offseason Review – Philadelphia Eagles
By Noonefromtampa
This is part three of a three-part series looking at the changes to each of the Redskins’ competitors in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles are up next.
Key Free Agent Losses
Halapoulivaati Vaitai – G (DET)
Malcolm Jenkins – FS (NO)
Jordan Howard – RB (MIA)
Ronald Darby – CB (WAS)
Kamu Grugier-Hill – OLB (MIA)
Nelson Agholor – WR (LVR)
Richard Rodgers – TE (WAS)
Jason Peters – was not re-signed
Key Free Agents Kept
Corey Clement – RB
Jalen Mills – CB
Hassan Ridgeway – DT
Rodney McLeod – S
Nate Sudfeld – QB
Key Free Agent Additions
Javon Hargrave – DT
Will Parks – S
Jatavis Brown – ILB
Players Traded For
Darius Slay – CB (DET)
Draft Picks
| Rnd. | Pick # | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 21 | Jalen Reagor | WR | TCU |
| 2 | 53 | Jalen Hurts | QB | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 103 | Davion Taylor | OLB | Colorado |
| 4 | 127 | K’Von Wallace | S | Clemson |
| 4 | 145 | Jack Driscoll | G | Auburn |
| 5 | 168 | John Hightower | WR | Boise State |
| 6 | 196 | Shaun Bradley | LB | Temple |
| 6 | 200 | Quez Watkins | WR | Southern Miss |
| 6 | 210 | Prince Tega Wanogho | OT | Auburn |
| 7 | 233 | Casey Toohill | OLB | Stanford |
Quick Schedule
| Week | Opponent |
| 1 | @WSH |
| 2 | LAR |
| 3 | CIN |
| 4 | @SF |
| 5 | @PIT |
| 6 | BAL |
| 7 | NYG |
| 8 | DAL |
| 9 | BYE |
| 10 | @NYG |
| 11 | @CLE |
| 12 | SEA |
| 13 | @GB |
| 14 | NO |
| 15 | @ARI |
| 16 | @DAL |
| 17 | WSH |
Coaching Changes
While the head coach remains the same, there were a lot of changes to the assistant coach levels. Press Taylor was promoted to passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach, meaning the OC duties are split between him and the run game coordinator, Jeff Stoutland. Rich Scangarello, the former Broncos offensive coordinator, was hired as senior offensive assistant. Matt Burke was promoted to defensive line coach. Marquand Manuel, the former Falcons DC, was hired as defensive backs coach and is taking over for Cory Undlin. Aaron Moorehead was hired away from Vanderbilt as wide receivers coach. Andrew Breiner is the new passing game analyst; he spent the last two years as the quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State. T.J. Paganetti was promoted to assistant run game coordinator/assistant running backs coach. Dino Vasso was promoted to assistant coordinator/defense.
Summary
The Eagles have basically re-tooled for another playoff run attempt. They matched every loss with some sort of addition, such as trading for Slay after losing Darby or drafting Raegor after losing Agholor. The big personnel question for the Eagles will be whether the additions equal to or better than the subtractions.
Slay is certainly better than Darby, but the team may be expecting a lot from rookies such as Raegor, Wallace and Driscoll to replace good veteran players they lost like Jenkins, Vaitai and Peters. Many draft experts did not have Raegor rated as high as the Eagles picked him. Wide receivers such as Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman Jr. were still on the board when the Eagles picked.
The most questionable offseason move the Eagles did was drafting Jalen Hurts in the second round despite so many other pressing needs. With quarterback Carson Wentz firmly entrenched as the starter after signing a 4-year, $128M contract last year, it seems like the Eagles are hedging their bets that Wentz will be hurt again during the season. Since Foles was traded away, former Redskins draft pick Nate Sudfeld has been the primary backup. The Eagles may also be thinking they will do something similar to what the Saints have done with Taysom Hill and bring Hurt in to run certain RPO packages in specific situations, reducing the injury risk to Wentz.